Canon EOS-1Ds Review

Image Quality / Specific Issues

Nothing can really prepare you for the huge resolution
delivered in the huge EOS-1Ds images, as seems to be Canon's philosophy
the default sharpening levels are very low (default sharpening parameter
is zero), however create a new parameter set with slightly higher sharpening
or apply an Unsharp mask to images and detail leaps out of the image.

Noise levels are also very good (as we had come to expect
from Canon's CMOS sensor), better than the EOS-D60 at higher sensitivities
but not quite as 'buttery smooth' at ISO 100 (odd because the EOS-1Ds
pixel pitch is larger). With an sRGB color matrix selected colors are
vivid, if a little 'red strong', but that can of course be adjusted for
or avoided completely by using the Adobe RGB color matrix.

Sharpening images

As mentioned above the EOS-1Ds has a fairly soft default sharpening level.
Below you will find a comparison of this default level, a sharpening level
of 2 and a Unsharp mask of the original 'default' image. The first two
images were created from a RAW file using the Canon File Viewer utility.

Lens aberrations - the implications for a full size 35 mm sensor

The EOS-1Ds has a full size 35 mm sensor, that means it's using more
of the glass of a lens than previous digital SLR's which 'cropped' a portion
of the center of the lens (the 'sweet spot' as it's sometimes known).
This means that the 1Ds is more likely to reproduce lens effects which
are normally to be found near the edges of the lens, such as chromatic
aberrations. In addition to this the interaction of the lens and microlenses
on the sensor surface, especially at high angle of incidence (wide angle
lenses) can introduce or amplify such artifacts.

Chromatic aberrations

Even using the best of Canon's L lenses we couldn't get away from the
occasional chromatic aberration effect, that said it does require a particular
high contrast situation (such as branches against a sky background) to
be apparent. Also because of the 3:2 ratio of the image these artifacts
are more likely to be visible on the left or right edges of the frame.

Vignetting / Light fall off

One other phenomenon which film photographers will be aware of but up
D-SLR users haven't had to be concerned about is vignetting / light fall
off at wide apertures. The thumbnails below are provided to give an impression
of the visibility of fall off which now occurs because of the full 35
mm size sensor. Note that this effect is not unique to the EOS-1Ds, it's
a well known and documented phenomenon in the film world. It is most noticeable
at wide angle and maximum aperture and will vary depending on the lens.

Comments

I have just got one for myself 2 weeks back, and I just love it. It came with a 50mm 1.8. I am going to use this combination only for some time. The resolving power is quite amazing. I also bought a speedlite 430EXII 2 days back to use with it. They work well with each other, and give good pictures.

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